In this 2012 photo, Anaadi Ahmad, a refugee from Homs, Syria, holds one of her children in a refugee camp in Al Four, at the foot of the mountains on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. (photo: CNS/Sam Tarling, Catholic Relief Services)

Lebanese official says Syrian refugees threaten Lebanon’s existence(Daily Star Lebanon) Energy Minister Gebran Bassil warned Friday the Syrian refugee crisis threatens the existence of Lebanon and said the country must stop receiving refugees. “The Syrian refugee crisis is the biggest crisis threatening the Lebanese entity,” Bassil told a news conference to address the surge in the number of Syrian refugees crossing into the country. “We should stop receiving refugees with the exception of those who need health care,” Bassil said. The United Nations is aiding over 750,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and there are hundreds of thousands more people who are uncounted. Lebanese officials say the country needs more international aid to cope with the huge numbers of refugees…

Syrian refugees in Lebanon set differences aside(Al Monitor) The Syrian conflict has affected Lebanon on many occasions, with attacks against Hezbollah occurring in recent months alongside sectarian fighting in Tripoli. Refugees in precarious conditions, however, seem to have put their political differences aside in the face of dire odds. Most refugees agree that tensions about Syrians, though they exist, are minor compared with those between Lebanese and Syrians. Organizations dealing with Syrian refugees in Lebanon such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council also report this finding. Dana Sleiman, an information officer for UNHCR, said that the organization has not observed “any form of political segregation” among Syrian refugees, but that “tensions appear mostly between Lebanese and Syrians, primarily on financial issues…”

Islamists torch statues, crosses in Syrian churches(AINA) Fighters linked to Al Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses inside churches in northern Syria on Thursday and destroyed a cross on a church clock tower, a watchdog said. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters entered the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the northern city of Raqa and torched the religious furnishings inside, the Syria Observatory for Human Rights said. They did the same at the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs, and also destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, replacing it with the ISIL flag…

Orthodox patriarch shares pain of Syrian people with pope(Vatican Radio) The pain and suffering of Christians in Syria was at the heart of a meeting that Pope Francis had on Friday with Patriarch Youhanna X, head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East. On Sunday the patriarch will attend Mass in St. Peter’s Square, celebrated by the pope to mark the Day of Catechists. In his encounter with the Holy Father, the patriarch spoke about the difficulties facing the Christian community in Syria and the surrounding region. He also talked about the plight of his own brother who was kidnapped last April, together with the Syriac Orthodox bishop of Aleppo. The two leaders also shared their hopes for progress on the journey towards full Christian unity…

Keeping the Khachkars(OCP Media Network) The cross is arguably the most familiar symbol of Christianity, but nowhere is this iconography as crucial or culturally entrenched as it is in Armenia. Wherever you go, thousands of khachkars, or cross-stones, provide a rare glimpse into the art of spiritual expression. Starting from the 4th century, the conversion of Armenians, and the instatement of Christianity — and by extension, the Armenian Apostolic Church — as a state religion in 301 issued a new era of national consciousness. Upon initial inspection, the khachkar bears resemblance to other forms of Christian art, namely the Celtic high cross and the Lithuanian kryzdirbyste, but in order to understand how a medieval stone became so charged with the Armenian spirit, a brief lesson in iconology is needed…

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Peter I has expressed disappointment with the international response to the Syrian crisis, saying that only the pope has made a solid statement against war. He believes that the profitable weapons trade explains the silence of most countries. (video: Rome Reports)

Maronite patriarch helps pope with Mass, thanks him for peace call(Daily Star Lebanon) The Maronite patriarch of Antioch assisted Pope Francis during a Mass Wednesday at the Vatican and thanked the pontiff for his recent calls for peace in the Middle East. A cardinal of the Catholic Church, Patriarch Bechara Peter was accompanied by a number of Maronite bishops and heads of monastic orders during the morning ceremony, according to the National News Agency. At the conclusion of the Mass, the patriarch thanked Francis for his efforts to promote peace in the region, and also spoke about the dispersion of Maronites throughout the world…

Chaldean patriarch speaks out against emigration(Daily Star Lebanon) The Chaldean patriarch arrived in Lebanon for a rare visit Thursday and urged Christians to not leave their homeland. Patriarch Louis Raphael of Babylon made the comments at Rafik Hariri International Airport, before heading to the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh for the holding of religious services. “Christians, wherever they are, should not emigrate, because this is considered a withdrawal from the scene and a loss of identity,” he said. “In countries of emigration, they are refugees and emigres, but here, they have an identity, a role and a history…”

Daily suicide bombings keep Iraqis in state of shock(Al Monitor) As suicide bombings become a daily occurrence, Iraqis contemplate their lives. Ali Wajih, a young Iraqi poet, told Al Monitor, “I’m no longer intimidated by death. … I talk about death and laugh with my friends. Haven’t I told you that death has become trivial?” Some Iraqi intellectuals criticize media outlets for disregarding the human aspects of the victims of bombings and acts of violence, simply counting them on a daily basis and following up on the government’s reactions and stated measures. This picture has become a daily routine in Iraq. Iraqis go about their lives expecting a car bomb to explode next to them at any time. They say goodbye to their families in the morning, and deep down inside they do not rule out the idea that this could be their final goodbye.…

Largest Syrian rebel groups form Islamic alliance(Washington Post) American hopes of winning more influence over Syria’s fractious rebel movement faded Wednesday after 11 of the biggest armed factions repudiated the Western-backed opposition coalition and announced the formation of a new alliance dedicated to creating an Islamic state. The Al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is the lead signatory of the new group, which will further complicate fledgling U.S. efforts to provide lethal aid to “moderate” rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Others include the Tawheed Brigade, the biggest Free Syrian Army unit in the northern city of Aleppo; Liwa al Islam, the largest rebel group in the capital, Damascus; and Ahrar al Sham, the most successful nationwide franchise of mostly Syrian Salafist fighters. Collectively, the new front, which does not yet have a formal name but has been dubbed by its members the “Islamist Alliance,” claims to represent 75 percent of the rebels fighting to topple Assad…

In Kerala, ancient murals draw visitors(The Hindu) The murals in St. Mary’s Soonoro Church in Angamaly — a Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church — with its Biblical themes rendered in vibrant colors, continue to draw keen visitors. Though churches across Kerala have had a longstanding tradition of murals, the ones at Angamaly are particularly noted for their antiquity and the way they have weathered these years. The original church on this site is believed to have been consecrated in 409, though the present church was built in the 16th century… [Click to learn more about Jacobites or the larger Indian Orthodox Church to which they belong.]

Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia speaks at the opening ceremony of the Synod of Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 24 September. (photo: Catholicosate of Cilicia)

Synod of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church commences(The Armenian Church) On 24 September in Etchmiadzin, Armenian Apostolic Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians and Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia presided over the opening of the Synod of Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Present at the meeting were 62 archbishops and bishops from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony…

Greek Catholic archbishop of Aleppo details the Syrian disaster(Fides) In a note sent to Fides Agency, Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart, metropolitan of Aleppo of the Greek Catholics, has compiled a great deal quantitative data to lend an understanding of the scale of the disaster. According to the metropolitan archbishop, in Aleppo alone, “1,400 factories and shops were looted, demolished or burned, while across the country more than 2,000 schools have been devastated or put out of use…”

NGO documents violence against Copts(Daily News Egypt) The destruction of 30 houses of worship and over 60 Christian shops, homes and cars made August 2013 the “fiercest violent scene throughout Egypt’s contemporary history,” according to a new report by the Egyptian Centre for Public Policy Studies. The report found a systematic and organized surge in violence against Coptic Christians — mostly in Upper Egypt — since the 14 August dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaa al Adaweya and Nahda Square…

Maspero Coptic group proposes amendments to Egyptian constitution(Ahram Online) The Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic youth movement, met on Wednesday with the 50-member committee charged with amending the constitution, to propose several amendments to the charter. According to union member Bishoy Tamry, the group proposed amendments to articles related to religious rights and issues. The activist told Ahram Online that the group “is against any religious article including Article 2,” which states “Islam is the main source of legislation.” The group also proposes that an article is included that states Egypt is a “civil state…”

Egyptian minister postpones dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood(Washington Post) An Egyptian minister said Tuesday that the government would “postpone” the court-ordered dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the state-run Middle East News Agency. The statement comes after an obscure court issued a sweeping but legally questionable decision Monday to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and all related organizations and activities, which appears to grant the military-backed government expansive legal authority to go after the group’s finances and other assets and essentially criminalizes its political and social service work…

Interview with Patriarch Twal: Christians ‘go against the current’(Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem) “We’re going against the current. It is a constant effort, but it requires the search for truth.” Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, was in Amman for a meeting between the leaders and representatives of the churches of the East, convened by the king of Jordan to reflect on the challenges that Arab Christians face today and which are a matter of grave concern for King Abdullah II. “The major urgency now is to set straight the religious discourse of so many imams who, from within their mosques, preach violence against non-Muslims…”

In this 2012 photo, Syrian refugee Ferian, who fled to Lebanon to escape the conflict that claimed the lives of her three brothers, sits in an informal refugee camp in Al Four at the foot of the mountains on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. (photo: CNS/Sam Tarling, Catholic Relief Services)

Pope: ‘Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity’(AsiaNews) The reality of migration, which in our time has reached unprecedented proportions, “needs to be approached and managed in a new, equitable and effective manner,” because “migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity” and “can not be reduced to mere economic growth, development, achieved, often without looking at the weakest and most defenseless.” The reality of migration, given its new dimensions in our age of globalization, needs to be approached and managed in a new, equitable and effective manner…

Egyptian NGO, Copts urge against guaranteed electoral quotas(Fides) The Egyptian Center for Development Studies and Human Rights — an NGO close to the Coptic Orthodox Church — has asked that the forthcoming elections be celebrated by putting aside the quota system of seats reserved for Christians. According to the organization, the practice of reserving seats in parliament to some social groups defined on the basis of religion contradicts the principle of equality among citizens that must be guaranteed by the new constitution, on which 50 members of a Constitutional Commission have been working since 8 September. Even Bishop of Minya of the Catholic Copts Botros Fahim Awad Hanna reported to Fides Agency his opposition to the system of quotas, which in his opinion “favors the division of the Country on sectarian basis…”

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is banned, and crackdown could broaden(Washington Post) An Egyptian court on Monday banned the Muslim Brotherhood and its vast social services network in what could be a devastating blow to the Islamist organization, which swept Mohamed Morsi to the presidency just last year and has fiercely resisted the military coup that ousted him in July. The far-reaching ruling appears to apply to any group remotely associated with the world’s oldest Islamist movement, granting temporary legal cover to the military-backed government of General Abdel Fatah al Sisi to broaden a crackdown that has already left the Brotherhood battered…

Nuns, orphans trapped in Syria’s Maaloula(France24) Nearly 40 nuns and orphans are trapped inside a convent in the Syrian Christian town of Maaloula, where regime troops are battling rebel forces, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate said Tuesday. The famed town, where residents still speak Aramaic, the language Jesus Christ is thought to have spoken, has been the scene of clashes since earlier this month. “The Mar Takla convent is living through painful days because it is in the middle of the zone where fire is being exchanged, which makes getting supplies difficult and dangerous,” the Damascus-based Patriarchate said in a statement…

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25(Daily Star Lebanon) Fighting between security forces and militants killed 25 people in Iraq on Tuesday, as the U.N. warned that sectarian attacks threaten to force more Iraqis from their homes. Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict…

Children sit along a damaged street filled with debris in the besieged area of Homs, Syria,on 19 September. (photo: CNS/Yazan Homsy, Reuters)

U.S. faces tough challenges bringing aid to Syria(Associated Press) As the Syrian crisis rages and debate heats up over Syria’s chemical weapons, U.S. officials are fighting a quieter battle: The delivery of nearly $1.3 billion in assistance in a war zone so chaotic that ambulances are used for target practice and aid is halted by armed men at random checkpoints...

Syria’s tragedy, up close(Catholic Register) While diplomats shuffle between Geneva, Moscow and Washington, their plans to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control are having no impact on the war of attrition Syrians are fighting with rifles, rocket propelled grenades, tanks and bombing raids. As the violence that’s killed more than 100,000 Syrians wears on, Turkey is seeing more and more of the human toll in the form of refugees and wounded fighters....

Egypt bans Muslim Brotherhood(Associated Press) An Egyptian court has banned the Muslim Brotherhood group and ordered its assets confiscated in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown by the military-backed government against supporters of the ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. Egypt state TV said the court issued its ruling on Monday...

Thousands of Christians travel to Israel for Sukkot(JNS.org) More than 5,000 Christian pilgrims from 100 countries will descend on Israel this week as part of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) celebration. The festival begins 20 Sept. at the Oasis Hotel in Ein Gedi on the Dead Sea and will continue for the reminder of Sukkot at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. The weeklong celebration is expected to generate more than $16 million in revenue, and is the largest annual tourist event to Israel. “We are thrilled that thousands of Christians from all over the world will be arriving in Jerusalem this week to take part in our annual Feast gathering, despite the recent tensions in the region over the Syrian conflict,” Dr. Jürgen Bühler, the ICEJ’s executive director, said in a statement. “Their visit to Jerusalem is a timely message of solidarity with the people of Israel....”

Pope Francis: social communications is for bringing others to Christ(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday addressed the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Pope Francis said the goal of the Church for its communications efforts is “to understand how to enter into dialogue with the men and women of today in order to appreciate their desires, their doubts and their hopes.” The Holy Father said we must examine if the communications of the Church are helping others to meet Christ...

In India, Kerala weddings go from spartan to splashy(Times of India) The caparisoned elephant at the entrance is the first shock. Then, you walk straight into Nala and Damayanti, the star-crossed couple from Mahabharata, in full Kathakali regalia waiting to usher you into the hall. This is after you have been welcomed by a percussion ensemble, and watched Mohiniyattam and Kathakali tableaux go by. At a big Christian wedding in the same city, the bride has decided to be Cinderella. She is dropped off by a pumpkin chariot in a white gown and gloves and various other Disney type props. Even Muslim nikaahs have been spiced up with ‘sufi nites.’ There used to be an old joke about Malayali weddings in Delhi. A friend of the groom, freezing in the January cold, steps out of the temple for a quick smoke before the rituals begin. He returns five minutes later — to find the wedding over. Stories like this are now history...

In this image from one year ago, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, right, pays a visit to the CNEWA office in New York. (photo: CNEWA)

Patriarch Twal urges equal citizenship for Christians, prayers for world peace(Vatican Radio) Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal is calling on the faithful and all people of good will to continue to pray for world peace. The Patriarch, who is in Rome for a meeting of the Latin Bishops’ Conference for the Arab Region, told Tracey McClure that the universal day for prayer for peace in Syria and the Mideast called by Pope Francis last September 7th succeeded in its goal, at least temporarily. “It really worked; we must admit that. And we must thank God really. … That doesn’t mean that we must stop…”

Mortar shells against the Melkite Archbishopric of Aleppo(Fides) Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Jean-Clément of Aleppo reports that “two mortar shells damaged the seat of our Greek Catholic archbishopric.” Thankfully, because of the late hour of the incident, no one was hurt. The archbishop says: “The city is strangled and the situation is worsening day by day. As citizens we feel trapped, and do not know what our fate will be. We have a short supply of goods or prices are very high, people have problems concerning their daily subsistence. … Yet we Christians in Syria have a mission: that of dialogue, peace and reconciliation — to keep a light of faith, hope and charity. And we want to live up to this mission…”

Syrian government says war has reached stalemate(The Guardian) The Syrian conflict has reached a stalemate and President Bashar al Assad’s government will call for a ceasefire at a long-delayed conference in Geneva on the state’s future, the country’s deputy prime minister has said in an interview with the Guardian. Qadri Jamil said that neither side was strong enough to win the conflict, which has lasted two years and caused the death of more than 100,000 people. Jamil, who is in charge of country’s finances, also said that the Syrian economy had suffered catastrophic losses. If accepted by the armed opposition, a ceasefire would have to be kept “under international observation”, which could be provided by monitors or United Nations peacekeepers — as long as they came from neutral or friendly countries, he said…

Deadly blasts hit Iraq mosque(Al Jazeera) Two explosions inside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, have killed least 16 people, officials said. The bombs were hidden inside air conditioners, the same tactic used in a deadly bombing on a Sunni mosque in Baquba last Friday that killed 33 people. Iraq’s delicate sectarian balance has come under growing strain from the civil war in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al Assad, a leader backed by Shia Iran…

Delga Islamists threaten Christians(AsiaNews) The Copts of Delga, in upper Egypt, are still suffering the Islamists’ persecution despite the presence of the army and police. Witnesses say that “the Muslim Brotherhood are going door to door to Christian homes in front of police, demanding their silence” on pain of death. Interviewed by Mina Thabet, founder of the Maspero Youth Union, a witness explained: “The Islamists are forcing people to sign documents that state they have not been subjected to any attack by extremists. If they do not sign, the Muslim Brotherhood will destroy their homes once the army leaves the city…”

In this 2011 image, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych, then-major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, waves as he leaves a news conference in Kiev. (photo: CNS/Konstantin Chernichkin, Reuters)

Former church head lashes out in defense of international adoption(RISU) At this week’s session, for the eighth time the deputies will decide whether to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The convention is aimed at streamlining the mechanism for international adoption, which is often the last hope many older or less-healthy children have of joining a family. Cardinal Lubomyr Husar sharply criticized the fact that the deputies still do not support the Hague Adoption Convention: “I would take a whip and give them all a good beating, then maybe they would start to think straight. … Every child is vulnerable, but those poor children who are deprived of parental care and protection are particularly vulnerable…”

Pope Francis sends a letter to the imam of Al Azhar(Fides) Pope Francis sent a message to Ahmed al Tayyeb, the great imam of the Islamic university Al Azhar, the main cultural institution of Sunni Islam. The university reports that the Pope’s message expresses esteem and respect “for Islam and Muslims” and the hope that one tries to make an effort in the “understanding among Christians and Muslims in the world, to build peace and justice.” The personal letter from the Pope was delivered on Tuesday, 17 September, by the apostolic nuncio in Egypt, Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel…

Sectarian violence reignites in an Iraqi town(New York Times) The archway at the entrance to this farming community welcomes visitors in “peace. For generations, Shiite and Sunni families worked the land, earning a living from their sheep and cows, their wheat fields and lemon trees. Recently, though, the only talk is of how to stop them from killing one another. The latest strategy: new concrete walls with separate entryways for the different sects. “So there’s a Sunni way in, and a Shiite way in,” Abu Jassim, a Sunni resident who recently fled his home after sectarian revenge killings by Shiite gunmen, explained to a local representative in Parliament. During the worst of Iraq’s carnage over the last decade, this area of Diyala Province, a mixed region where Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds still compete for power, faced killings and displacement. But what is happening now, villagers say, is worse — what one Western diplomat described in an interview as “Balkans-style ethnic cleansing…”

Syrian Christians in limbo, fearing repeat of Iraq(Voice of America) From the earliest days of Christianity, Christians have lived and worshipped in Syria. But in less than three years, civil war has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, and Christians worry there will be an even greater exodus. Their biggest concern is an eventual rebel victory. They point to what happened in neighboring Iraq where sectarian killings, persecution of Christians and an increasingly Islamist political culture, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, forced more than half of the Iraqi Christian population to flee…

A monk of the Holy Land: ‘No to confessionalism’(Fides) “We need to separate religion and politics. Nothing is worse, in this situation, than a confessional approach. Syria is a country full of ethnic and religious diversity. Among Christians and non-Christians there are very different political views, even though today the majority of Syrians are forced into silence by violence,” says the Rev. Bahjat Karakach, O.F.M., of Aleppo. Father Bahjat adds that this majority “[does] not agree with the violence that is devastating the country…”

Egypt army storms village near Cairo(Al Jazeera) Egyptian troops and police clashed Thursday morning on the outskirts of Cairo after security forces launched an operation to arrest people accused of torching police stations and killing at least 11 police officers during July clashes. Egypt’s official news agency MENA said troops backed by helicopters had surrounded the town of Kerdassah, a known Islamist stronghold, after exchanging fire with suspected militants there…

A mysterious mass conversion from Islam to Christianity in Georgia(Mystagogy, translated from Oumma.com) In 1991, three out of four Adjarians in Georgia were Muslim. Today, 75 percent is Orthodox Christian. How can these conversions, apparently unique in the world, be explained? In a long interview published in December 2012, Metropolitan Dimitri of Batumi (the capital of Adjara) — nephew of Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia — says he was appointed parish priest of St. Nicholas in Batumi in 1986. At that time, there was only one Orthodox church in Batumi. Dimitri states that “the metamorphosis of an entire region, this conversion from Islam to Orthodoxy, or rather the return to basics, to the faith of their ancestors,” took place before his eyes…

In this 24 August photo, relatives of car bomb victims inspect the damaged cars at the explosion site in front of a mosque in Tripoli, Lebanon. Bombs hit two mosques the day before in the northern Lebanese port city, killing dozens of people and wounding hundreds. (photo: CNS/Jamal Saidi, Reuters)

‘Arab Spring’ degrades into sectarian counterrevolution(Global Research) The blind sectarian rampage wreaking havoc on mosques, churches and other religious sites has become a trademark phenomenon of the Arab world since the “Arab Spring” first blossomed in the streets. Swept away in the tides of conflict are cultural treasures of archeology and history, hitting hard the very foundations of the Arab and Islamic identity in the region — and, more importantly, tormenting the souls of the Arab Muslim and Christian believers who helplessly watch their havens being desecrated, looted and bombed…

The U.S. Pentagon to Egyptian general: Protect the Copts(Fides) In a telephone conversation on 17 September, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel implored General Abdel Fattah al Sisi to make every effort to ensure the safety of the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, targeted in recent weeks by the violence of Islamist gangs following the deposition of President Mohamed Morsi. This was reported by Pentagon spokesman George Little in a statement, referring that general Sisi was also invited to take measures to “demonstrate the commitment of the transitional government” in favor of the process of democratic normalization…

Curfew in Delga, a Islamist-held town where Christians cannot live(AsiaNews) A small-scale civil war broke out yesterday in Delga, a town in upper Egypt following its takeover by Islamists over a month ago. According to local sources, the Egyptian military and police retook the town this morning from armed extremist militia, only thanks to the intervention of the air force. On 14 August, Islamists took advantage of the chaos that began when the authorities began clearing pro-Morsi camps in Cairo to occupy Delga and impose Sharia law on the entire population. After their takeover, members of the Muslim Brotherhood torched at least 62 homes and forced half of the Christian population to flee the Minya region. Coptic residents said that some Islamic leaders tried to negotiate with the Islamists to stop the destruction of homes. Youssef Alfi, a resident, said that extremists started to force Christians to pay the jizya — the ancient poll tax tolerated non-Muslim minorities have to pay if they want to live in Islamic territory…

Religious leaders and Syrian refugees meet in Lebanon(Huffington Post) During Ramadan this year, an Alawite Sheikh, a Sunni Mufti, a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan and a Maronite Monsignor, along with a group of over 100 Syrian refugees and 50 local Lebanese met to share a meal together. The unlikely group of diners gathered in front of a beautiful mountain top restaurant in the village of Miniara, near Halba for an iftar — a meal after a day of fasting — showing that religious leaders and their communities can live in peace together if they wish. The next interfaith event will take place on 22 September, gathering all four religious communities and their leaders for a joint walk to a nearby Christian sanctuary, followed by a children’s festival and a communal meal for hungry walkers…

Russia’s Orthodox awakening(Foreign Affairs) When the Russian Orthodox Church is in the news, which has been quite often of late, the image that comes to mind is of an army of archbishops and abbots, commanded by Patriarch Kirill I, operating in conspiracy with the country’s authoritarian rulers in the Kremlin. This is not without reason. The church’s conservative clerics have, in fact, given their support to the government’s most polarizing recent laws, including the jailing of three members of Pussy Riot for offending believers’ religious sensibilities, legislation proscribing “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” and the institution of a limit of three legal marriages per Russian, to discourage divorce. But to conclude that the Russian Orthodox Church is nothing more than a bastion of political and moral reactionaries is to miss the many ways that change is being forced upon it. In some sense, the church’s ultraconservatism is on the wane…

Besieged residents of Syria’s Homs plead for help(Daily Star Lebanon) Thousands trapped in rebel areas of the Syrian city of Homs are living in dismal conditions and suffering severe food and medical shortages, say activists, who appealed for help to evacuate civilians safely. “Nothing is allowed in or out of the besieged areas,” Homs-based activist Yazan said Wednesday, urging international agencies to help “save … the children, women and the elderly.” The appeal by Yazan, who did not give his full name for security reasons, comes 15 months into a suffocating army siege on rebel areas in the central city. “Most people are showing symptoms of malnutrition. There is no clean drinking water,” and diseases “are spreading”, he told AFP via the Internet…

Pope calls on Christians to continue prayers for peace(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis Wednesday during his weekly general audience called on Catholics together with other Christians to continue to pray for peace in the most troubled parts of the world. He made the appeal ahead of the International Day of Peace, celebrated on 21 September. Below is a Vatican Radio English translation of the pope’s words…

Patriarch Tikhon Choir nurtures sounds of the Orthodox Church(New York Times) The Patriarch Tikhon Choir, a mixed-voice professional ensemble of 35 American, Canadian and Russian singers, was formed recently to focus on Orthodox Christian sacred music, a tradition it hopes to nurture in the United States. A substantial audience that included many monks turned up to hear the ensemble — named for a missionary saint who helped expand Orthodoxy in early 20th-century America — give its debut concert on Monday evening at St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church (the Actors’ Chapel) in the theater district of New York…

A Coptic Orthodox bishop prays with local residents at burnt and damaged church in Minya, Egypt, on 26 August. Egypt’s military and interim government have condemned all the attacks on Christian properties, calling them the “work of terrorists,” and blaming them on the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups supportive of ousted leader Mohammed Morsi. (photo: CNS/Louafi Larbi, Reuters)

In Islamist bastions of Egypt, army treads carefully, as do Christians(New York Times) In Cairo, where Islamists were always weakest, the security forces have ridden a wave of public approbation as they have moved quickly to impose a tight lockdown on street protests. Demonstrators opposing the new government are ever wary, fenced in by security forces, harried by hostile residents and fearful of attack. But in Minya, the provincial capital, the situation is so starkly inverted that a visitor might almost think that Mr. Morsi is still president…

Elections in Iraqi Kurdistan: patriarch appeals to Christian politicians(Fides) With elections scheduled for 21 September in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphael I appealed to the candidates of the Christian faith to commit themselves “to improving our towns and villages in terms of housing, services and infrastructure, creating jobs so that Christians do not emigrate.” In the message, sent to Fides Agency, the patriarch invites everyone to work for a full achievement of rights linked to citizenship…

Bulgarian patriarch says consumerism won’t make people happy(Novinite) The real needs of Bulgarians and people across the world relate to their daily toils and quest for harmony, argued Bulgaria’s Patriarch Neofit. “The needs of Bulgarians today do not differ from those of Bulgarians in the past, or from those of citizens of other countries. Those are universal needs,” said the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in an interview for Dnevnik.bg. Patriarch Neofit added that contemporary consumer society imposes new needs upon people, which take up considerable time and energy…

Ethiopia’s religious leaders call for support for national development(AllAfrica) Ethiopia’s religious leaders have urged Ethiopians to uphold peace and support the country’s efforts in national development in their New Year messages for 2006 (Ethiopian Calendar). The leaders called on Ethiopians to respect and support each other, strengthen their unity within diversity, and together push the ongoing national development endeavors forward. The archbishop of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, Abune Birhaneyesus Surafel, called on the laity to contribute to fighting illicit human trafficking…

Syrian bishop speaks on country’s mass exodus of Christians(Aid to the Church in Need) A Syrian prelate, ordained a bishop only last month, has spoken of his dismay at the country’s mass exodus of Christians, but he is convinced that the future of one of the world’s oldest Church communities is assured. Melkite Greek Catholic Bishop Nicolas Antiba of Bosra and Hauran described how his faithful in southern Syria were fleeing in their hundreds to the area around his bishop’s house in Khabab following attacks which included the destruction of reportedly one of the country’s oldest churches, dating back to the 6th century. Bishop Antiba stressed the urgent need for help for displaced people arriving in Khabab and elsewhere, including food and shelter, a problem which he said will become more acute as the weather worsens. Amid reports that up to a third of the country’s Christian population is now internally displaced or living as refugees abroad, Bishop Antiba said, “I believe, I know, that persecution will not destroy the church…”

Maaloula’s cathedral and churches empty of Christians amid fighting(The Telegraph) On Sunday thousands of Christians should have filled its streets for the festival of the Holy Cross. But instead, the streets of Maaloula are filled with soldiers and tanks, spent bullet casings and the noise of Syria’s latest front-line fight. Maaloula is a special place. It has been a safe haven for Christians for 2,000 years — until now. It was a place of refuge so secure in its rugged mountain isolation that a dialect of the language of Christ, Aramaic, is still spoken here. But now, its Christian community of 2,000 has fled. In the tight alleyways and streets that wind up the Maaloula’s mountainside their language has been replaced by the Arabic of two bitter enemies: rebels from three Islamist groups and the soldiers of President Bashar al Assad…

U.N. finds ‘clear and convincing evidence’ of Syria chemical attack(Los Angeles Times) United Nations inspectors say there is “clear and convincing evidence” that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in an attack last month in Syria that killed hundreds of people. A report from the inspectors says “the environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used … in the Ghouta area of Damascus” on 21 August…

Despite chemical weapons talks, fighting in Syria escalated(Washington Post) As negotiations to avert a U.S. strike against Syria ramped up last week, so, too, did the action on the ground. Warplanes dropped bombs over far-flung Syrian towns that hadn’t seen airstrikes in weeks, government forces went on the attack in the hotly contested suburbs of Damascus, rebels launched an offensive in the south, and a historic Christian town changed hands at least four times…

Some wounded Syrians treated in Israel(NPR) The wounded arrive from Syrian clinics with day-old injuries, rudimentary stitches and amputations. Some are women and children; others are adult men, some thought to be rebel fighters. Israel has helped about 200 of the injured across the border for medical treatment. No matter their role in the fighting, the Syrians have come here at great risk: They could face arrest or worse if Syria ever found out they visited Israel. Most of the Syrian patients here are alone — no family or friends by their side. They don’t risk calling or emailing their families in Syria, either…

Chaldean patriarch to Church of the East: let us go back to full unity(Fides) The Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphael I sent a letter of congratulations to the Patriarch of the Church of the East Mar Dinkha IV on the occasion of his 78th birthday, celebrated on 15 September. In the congratulatory message, Patriarch Louis Raphael extended an eloquent official invitation to start a path of dialogue together to restore full ecclesial communion between the Chaldean community — together with the bishop of Rome — and the Church of the East. “I take this opportunity, to express the desire of the Chaldean Church to begin dialogue for unity, which is the desire of Jesus. The beginning of this dialogue is urgent today, in the face of great challenges that threaten our survival. Without unity, there is no future for us…”

Pope receives Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem(VIS) The pope held an audience with members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem participating in a pilgrimage to Rome to mark the Year of Faith on Friday afternoon. “The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has a history dating back almost a thousand years; yours is one of the most ancient welfare and charitable Orders still active today,” said Pope Francis…

Meeting of the Latin bishops of the Arab world(Fides) On 17 September, the ordinary meeting of the representatives of the Conference of Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions — the body that brings together the Catholic bishops of the Latin Church in the Arab states of the Middle East, Egypt and Somalia — will begin in Rome. The meetings will focus on the latest initiatives planned for the Year of Faith and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. The liaison body of the bishops of the Latin Church in the Arab countries was established in 1967 to promote collegiality and communion among local churches…